Grieving
by DarylDixon
Summary: Carol finds comfort from an unexpected source.


He had absolutely no intentions on sleepin' that night. He had been pacing back 'n forth in front of the old buildin' for God knows how long, not being able to figure out how Hershel could not have known Sophia was in there. He wasn't even sad – he was just pissed.

_Pissed that he was the only one out there lookin' for Sophia. Pissed that everyone had given up before the search really started. Pissed that Rick had left Sophia alone in the first place. Pissed that he hadn't been there to protect her. Just pissed in general about everythin'._

He was completely focused on his thoughts; he didn't even hear footsteps come up behind him until he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. He jerked himself away, turnin' around to face whoever the hell it was – gettin' ready to give them a piece of his mind. However, he immediately stopped when he saw who it was.

_"Daryl..."_

Carol's voice spoke with that damn soft tone, the same tone that instantly relaxed him – usually makin' him question why he was even mad in the first place – but still, he tried his best to hold onto the anger that was boilin' inside him. _"Daryl, you need to come inside. Come and eat, you can't stay out here all night.."_

His eyes gave her a once over, before turnin' back around to face the barn, not botherin' to respond.

_"It's not your fault,"_ Carol said quietly. _"None of it is. I told you once and I'll tell you it again, you've done more for my daughter than anyone ever has before."_

Daryl kept his eyes on the barn, as if expectin' somethin' – Sophia to walk out of it, to claim that it was all just a game of hide N go seek, that she was okay and that they didn't bury her just hours ago.

_"'Nd it wasn't enough."_

He didn't say anythin' else – neither did Carol. They just stood there in the silence, listenin' to the crickets chirp. It wasn't till about five minutes later when Daryl began to speak again.

_"If it was enough, that little girl would be here, right now. She wouldn't be buried in the ground; we would've found her in time. If everyone had given ten extra minutes of their fuckin' time and quit worryin' about petty drama, we could've found her. I'm sure of it."_

He glanced over at the woman standin' beside him, as if expectin' her to say somethin' – say anythin', but, she didn't. She looked to be lost in thought, and Daryl didn't know what to do. So, he just continued on talkin'.

_"We ain't gonna last very long if people don't start focusin' on what's important. Survivin'. It ain't about relaxin', it ain't about tryin' to find peace because truth be told, there ain't any. Not anymore – not with these damn things runnin' around, just waitin' on their chance to fuck you up. We can't afford to be careless – 'nd that's exactly what everyone's doin'. Surprised we've lasted this long, bein' in this fuckin' zoo."  
><em>

As he was rantin', he was walkin' around Carol like a rabid dog just waitin' to attack. As though he was circling his prey. It wasn't until what felt like another ten minutes passed by with still no reply from Carol did Daryl start to wonder. _"...You gonna answer me? 'Like I'm talkin' to a brick wall..."_ He mumbled under his breath, finally stoppin' circlin' her. He furrowed his brow, steppin' in front of her, gettin' a closer look at her face.

He could've sworn he had seen a tear roll down her cheek, but the woman was quick on it, wipin' her eyes on her sleeve. Like fearin' he'd strike her for seein' her cry – showin' a sign of bein' weak. He watched her, not really sure of what to do – or say to make things somewhat less awkward between the two.

_"...You're right,"_ she whispered with a small sniffle, and Daryl's ocean blue eyes finally met hers.

His eyes scanned over her features, noticin' now just how skinny she looked. She must not have eaten much at all the last few days, even though they had plenty to eat. Couldn't blame her though, not with everythin' goin' on. The expression on her face looked torn, worn out and just... broken. She was a mother who had just lost her child and it showed with just one look at her face.

He wasn't really even sure what to do upon seein' her like this – it was hard enough tryin' to keep his cool when inside he felt like explodin' at anyone and everyone who got in his way, but to try 'n comfort a grieving mother... no, that was too much. Too much for Daryl, he didn't sign up for this. With the world endin', everyone was startin' to show their weaknesses and that was the last thing that he needed-

His thought got cut off as he suddenly felt a strange source of warmth around him, and he didn't even realize what it was until he looked down, seeing Carol's arms wrapped around him, hearin' muffled sobs comin' from her. He wanted to pull away – to yell at her for how stupid she was bein' - but he couldn't do it. Somethin' inside of him couldn't bear to do it, so he just stood there, as still as a statue, just lettin' her do whatever it was she needed to do to feel better.

After what seemed like an eternity, Carol had finally pulled away, and Daryl felt a wave of relief wash over him. She was mumblin' apologizes here and there, obviously aware of how awkward he had felt, goin' on about how she had gotten caught up in the moment, and that she didn't even realize what she had done until it was too late – but, the awkward redneck gave her a stern look, ignorin' the "sorry's" comin' from her mouth, and murmured a response only audible if you were listenin' real close.

_"...Don't worry about it."_


End file.
